Topic

Category: Columns

For the Farmer: ND Farm Bureau President responds to allegations and explains what the Farm Bureau is doing to close the urban-rural divide

If you are a farmer and you have not seen the recent New York Times Opinion online videos demonizing farmers, then your blood pressure is likely still at a reasonable level. If you have seen them, and you work in agriculture like I do, your blood pressure is probably through the roof. The videos, of […]

by Charlie Adams

•

February 22, 2022

Talk to Your Neighbors

We've had a hard winter and some of us are feeling pretty battered by all the storms. Soon the government will be issuing its flood predictions for spring of 2022. Hopefully, the flood forecast will not be too dire. But no matter what's on the horizon, now is a good time to talk to your […]

by Charlene Nelson

•

February 21, 2022

Upside Down Under: We all need to be better listeners

I’m sure you all remember Craig Cobb? He was a self-proclaimed white nationalist who came to the Grant County community of Leith and tried to take over the town by buying up properties and bringing like-minded individuals to Leith. Cobb caused quite a stir that lasted a long time. His actions manufactured a lot of […]

by Marvin Baker

•

February 20, 2022

Northern Celebrations: A Dark Side

They glistened like hidden treasures awaiting discovery. Lying in the bottom of a coulee, they beckoned to be released them from their fate, which, granted would probably have provided food and nourishment for a happy rodent. The sheds were precious, they begged to be appreciated because, given their size, they probably were this bull’s most […]

by Jonathan Starr

•

February 19, 2022

The Very Road They Tried to Avoid

ND legislature’s fumbled sub-districting demonstrates submission to fear Every once in a while, a pithy film line displays substantial wisdom. In the animated movie Kung Fu Panda, Master Oogway tells a spooked Master Shifu, “One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it,” a quote slightly adapted from that penned by […]

by Greg Demme

•

February 18, 2022

She’s Not From Around Here: Talk Like a Local

When you move to a new place it’s common to feel like an outsider. Obviously, you expect it to take some time to find your stride and your people – but that stage of relocation is never fun. I’ve never felt so foreign in a place than when I moved to Minot. Things are different […]

by Amy Allender

•

February 17, 2022

Outdoor Lessons for the Real World: When the bad thing happens

As I sat in the icehouse catching up with a couple of friends I faintly heard in the distance “dad…Dad…DAd…DAD!” That day I was at an ice fishing retreat with forty plus anglers and about half of them were dads. One of my buddies said, “Someone must have a fish,” and we kept talking. Then […]

by Geremy Olson

•

February 16, 2022

For the Farmer: Roundup Force Majeure

You know how the White House Press Secretary’s office sometimes does the political stunt of dropping big news late on a Friday when everyone is going into the weekend? Usually at that time, everybody wants to get out of there and nobody really cares, right? Well, Bayer Crop Science, the manufacturer of the agriculture herbicide […]

by Charlie Adams

•

February 15, 2022

Food Storage Part II

Chances are good that your grandma kept a well-stocked pantry. She called it “putting by” and she thought it was just common sense to always have a good supply of food on hand. But with the prosperity in the decades following the Great Depression, this practice has fallen into disuse. Maybe it's time to revive […]

by Charlene Nelson

•

February 14, 2022

Upside Down Under: Swinging the pendulum

The world of communications is constantly changing and most of it runs parallel to the changes in technology. And for those of us who work in communications, it’s sometimes been a difficult transformation. As an example in each of the past three years, North Dakota has lost three weekly newspapers in the Dunn County Herald […]